


Five Ways They (Don’t) Find Out

by Morgane (smilla840)



Category: CSI: Miami
Genre: AU in the first part, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-30
Updated: 2013-01-30
Packaged: 2017-11-27 13:36:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/662591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smilla840/pseuds/Morgane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The title says it all :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Ways They (Don’t) Find Out

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted at my livejournal, and beta'ed by sunhawk.

I.

Speed is curious. It’s the third time in as many weeks that Eric has made lame excuses for not coming for a drink with the rest of the team and it’s not like him.

Suddenly Tim has an illumination and rubs his hands evilly. This is going to be fun.

He catches Eric in the break room and sidles next to him before asking,

“So, new girlfriend?”

Eric almost spews coffee everywhere and Speed smirks, helpfully patting his back.

“Do I know her? How serious is it?”

Because if his own calculations are right, it must be close to a month and Eric’s ‘ladies’ never last more than a night or two.

“What are you talking about?” Eric asks, still trying to catch his breath, and Speed almost, _almost_ believes him. Except not. 

Still, Eric isn’t talking and after a quick discussion with Alexx and Calleigh who don’t know anything either - he would ask Horatio if he thought the man would actually tell him - he lets it go. For now. He is watching though.

 

A couple of weeks later, he is a little disappointed. He has found no clue as to who this mystery woman might be, has seen no hickeys on Eric - granted, he is pretty covered these days but that might mean nothing. Eric doesn’t rush home in the evening, if anything he lingers, and Speed would take it as a sign that things are going south except there has been no tense phone calls, no shortness in Eric’s temper, and Speed is at a loss.

One day, on his day off, he goes walking on the beach, a nice little spot he and Eric came across on a case, and who does he see, lounging on a bench? Eric. He is about to go over and talk to him when Eric straightens suddenly and smiles. Speed follows his line of sight and frowns a little. He had been expecting the girlfriend, but it’s a young man who looks faintly familiar. Speed squints and finally recognizes one of the uniforms they sometimes work with. Wolfe, is it? Brian, or Ryan - something like that. Horatio has been talking about asking him to join the CSIs lately. Still, he didn’t know he and Eric were friends.

Then Eric stands up as the other reaches him and they’re ... kissing? Speed stares. Well. For all his pride in being a good investigator, he hadn’t seen that one coming.

He smiles. This is going sooooo much fun.

 

II.

Horatio looks at his phone with a little annoyance. He needs Eric to come in early and he isn’t answering his home line. No matter. He’ll try his cell. It wouldn’t be the first time Eric has been… otherwise occupied. If he can’t reach him, he’ll have to call Ryan.

The phone rings and a sleepy voice answers. It’s not Eric’s and H thinks it sounds a lot like Ryan. He frowns a little, wondering if his subconscious made him hit Ryan’s number directly. He checks the screen, and no, it _is_ Eric’s number.

“Horatio?” the voice asks again, and there is no doubt now. It is Ryan. And there are plausible explanations as to why Ryan is answering Eric’s phone this early in the morning. Maybe they switched phones without knowing yesterday?

“Ryan. I was trying to reach Eric.”

There is a pause at the other end of the line, and Horatio knows there has been no switching of phones.

“Right.”

He can almost hear Ryan panicking from here and a muffled _“it’s H. I answered your phone, thought it was mine.”_ There is more shuffling, and then Eric’s voice in his ear.

“H?”

Only Eric could say so little and sound both defiant and cautious.

“Eric. I need you to come in now, we have a crime scene.” He gives him the address and then adds, almost pensively. “Oh, and since Ryan is awake, have him come too. We’ll let Calleigh sleep.”

Eric transmits the message and before he hangs up, Horatio hears Ryan’s answering groan and there is laughter too.

He smiles. He had thought those two were too stubborn to get it right.

 

III.

Alexx hears about Ryan’s trip to the hospital directly from Horatio. He always informs her these days, since she made a scene the first time she found out one of the team had been to the ER without anyone telling her.

He tells her it’s nothing bad, just a graze, but it still needs stitching and Alexx insists on going to the ER to see for herself.

No one tries to stop her.

When she gets there, she’s directed to Ryan’s cubicle. When she reaches it, she hears voices coming from it and slows - she doesn’t want to barge in if he is talking to his doctor. But she recognizes Eric’s voice and nods to herself in approval. It’s good that someone stayed with him. Eric is _fussing_ and Ryan sounds a little exasperated, but in a fond way. It’s nice. She hadn’t liked the tension between the two of them.

She goes in and stops short. Eric is holding Ryan’s hand, stroking it in a hypnotic rhythm, and Ryan is slumped against him, his head on Eric’s shoulder and his eyes closed. When they realize they’re not alone anymore, Eric lets go abruptly and Ryan hastily straightens, but overbalances and would have toppled over if Eric hadn’t grabbed him. He ends up half-draped on Eric’s lap and blushing furiously.

She smiles. Her baby is in good hands.

 

IV.

It’s the end of the day and Calleigh is looking forward to going home. She already has a long hot bath scheduled and a nice little dinner afterwards.

She enters the locker room and it’s dark in there. She’s reaching for the light when she hears a strange noise. More like a strangled moan actually. Maybe someone fell and got hurt?

She switches the light on, only to see Eric and Ryan scrambling apart. 

Oh. 

Ryan is blushing, and she knows _she_ is blushing, and Eric... well Eric laughs. Ryan punches him lightly in the arm and mumbles something about it being all his fault. Eric just smirks and looks rather pleased with himself. Who wouldn’t, in his place? Because Calleigh can only imagine how much convincing it took to talk Ryan into this at work. Or maybe it took very little convincing...

Calleigh shakes herself, because considering her two male coworkers’ sex life isn’t helping her blush to go away. Not that it’s not a nice thought…

She smiles. All she can think is _finally_!

 

V.

There is this wild rumor in the lab.

About Eric and Ryan and how these two are in fact an item, despite the fact that (or because) they argue and fight on a regular basis.

Not everyone believes it. Natalia would tell you it’s the stupidest thing she’s ever heard and don’t you know she dated them both?

Some just shake their head and say they don’t care. It’s not like they want to date either of them anyway. (There are not many of those.)

Others watch them both secretly, trying to catch a clue to prove or disprove the rumor - this _is_ a crime lab after all, it’s what they do.

Finally there are a few, just three actually, apart from Eric and Ryan themselves, who know the truth. You could ask them, but you’ll never get a straight answer out of them. Horatio will just smile secretly, Alexx calmly inform you it’s no one’s business but their own and Calleigh will either deny it or wink and make some outrageous story about walking in on them in the locker room, depending on who you are. Either way, no one really believes her anyway.

But it’s okay. _They_ know. So do Eric and Ryan.

They’re smiling.

And that’s all that matters, isn’t it?


End file.
